Everyday Tech Pictures

Ion thrusters. Scanning tunneling microscopes. The Large Hadron Collider. At first glance, it seems like the coolest inventions are all things you’ll never get your hands on. But it would be a shame to overlook the coolness of everyday tech like the handheld fabric steamer. No, no -- just stick with us here for a second: Imagine how magical this thing would be to someone from the ancient world. You plug a little plastic canister into the wall, and it harnesses invisible currents of electrons to flash liquid water into gas and blast the vapors over the topography of a garment in distress. This thing is a Martian death ray for creases and wrinkles -- they vanish right before your eyes. The most abused piles of wadded linen look upon this weapon with trembling and despair. In short -- we shouldn’t take stuff like this for granted. Click through to see more of our favorite awesome but overlooked inventions in everyday technology. (Read more in How a Clothes Steamer Works.)